TEXANA READS: South Texas writer's book is a 'heart's delight'

South Texans will see bluebonnets in bloom beginning now through April. The state flower is an important pollinator for bees and butterflies. See some of the patches that have already popped up locally in Calallen and along I-37.
Wochit

With wildflowers bursting with colors from Austin to the Rio Grande Valley and throughout South Texas as spring 2019 approaches, it is appropriate to review a book that has become a Brush Country classic.

Published in 2010, “Deep in the Brush Country” is a quintessential semi-autobiographical book by Kingsville’s Lucille Thomas Kruse, who grew up in Falfurrias and has delightful tales to tell about her family’s experiences.

"Deep in the Brush Country" by Lucille Thomas Kruse(Photo: Contributed)

For her it was a “Heart’s Delight,” the name of a wildflower some claim only grows in the prairies surrounding Falfurrias. According to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, “heart’s delight or sand verbena can be an upright or widely sprawling perennial, ranging in height or width from 8-40 (inches). Its long, funnel-shaped flowers are usually white, but are sometimes tinged with green, lavender, or pink. Numerous blossoms are held in ball-shaped clusters at the ends of the sticky-hairy, branched stems. The flowers open in late afternoon and close in the morning.”

You can spot them now off U.S. 281 south of Falfurrias en route to the Rio Grande Valley. Mingling with the bluebonnet, Indian paintbrush, buttercups and sunflower, heart’s delight draws attention with its cluster of blooms resembling magic wands rustling in the South Texas breeze.

Kruse, a graduate of Texas A&I, is a descriptive writer who found her stride revealing how her family survived in deep South Texas. When her family arrived in 1907, they fell in love with the land. They were greeted with an artist’s palette of colors.

“Wildflowers grew in profusion. Bluebonnets blanketed the open fields, and we were especially proud of our radiant and unique flower, the heart’s delight,” she writes. The Thomas family envisioned “a great future” in South Texas. Turns out grandfather Thomas was right.

He packed all his belongings and farm animals, including his beehives, and moved to Falfurrias in an immigrant railroad car. The land was fertile, he discovered, and a farmer had flowing artesian water from wells.

Indeed, it was a simpler life where people’s work and family were the key to success. Kruse recalls these times with a clear and honest heart, retelling her family’s experiences growing up in a small South Texas community. This is her family’s story and in it historians will discover a not too distant past of life in the Brush Country.

There was fun to be had at the Salt Lake south of town. Or, you could take a journey to Riviera Beach, stopping in Riviera to get on a train. Near the farm were the sand hills (sand dunes) left over from another era when water used cover the land.

“The sand was beautifully white and fine,” she writes. “We climbed, slid, and rolled over and over on the hills and then later built a fire and roasted wieners and marshmallows, usually in the moonlight.”

Her favorite spot as a youngster was the Moss Tree, an elm tree with spreading branches covered with Spanish moss. It was located on Los Olmos Creek near her aunt’s ranch.

The area also boasted great personalities whose work still impacts South Texas. Kruse writes about her experiences in the King Ranch and her family’s encounters with philanthropist Ed Rachal and a horse named “Upset,” the only one to beat famous American thoroughbred Man o’ War. “Upset” was Ed Rachal’s prize horse and Kruse saw it frequently on her visit to his ranch south of Falfurrias.

Many of her grand adventures happened in downtown Falfurrias. Each business had a story and represented the great American dream of success. Among the businesses was the Lasater family's Falfurrias Butter enterprise, which has an interesting relationship to heart’s delight. Falfurrias, reportedly, is the Lipan Apache’s name for the flower that blossoms near the town. Thus, the town became Falfurrias and the butter, which gained statewide and national fame, became a legend.

Kruse also writes about trips to Kingsville and Corpus Christi, family excursions that were riddled more with fun and shopping. Their favorite stores were Ragland’s in Kingsville and Lichtenstein’s in Corpus Christi. Her description of the family trip to Kingsville and Corpus Christi, and Riviera Beach as well, are delightful.

Kruse made her way through grammar school, junior high and high school. She made good grades and knew she was going to college. One lament she had was about her friend, Nat, who was black. The law back then, she writes, did not allow him to go to public schools. Instead, he was educated by Mrs. Ed Rachal. He would say proudly he went to “the Rachal School.” He grew up to have his own business in Falfurrias. His son went on to attend West Point and captained the Army’s track team and was later assigned to the Pentagon.

Remembrances of her childhood were certainly a delight for Kruse, including the memories of her canine friends, Fluffy and Bud. Their stories, too, will make you laugh and cry.

Marriage, World II, a college education and a new life awaited her. The personal and candid vignettes of these experiences are told with passion and understanding. Her chapter on attending Texas A&I back in the 1940s is revealing and refreshing and will have many a Javelina graduate yearning for the good ol’ days.

She married Olan Kruse, who became one of the premier educators at the South Texas university, started the Physics Program, designed the building for it (Hill Hall), and is now honored annually with the Olan Kruse Lecture delivered by a top science faculty member.

Once older, Kruse begin writing a column titled “Remembrances” for her hometown newspaper, “The Falfurrias Facts.” She has also written essays and articles on her experiences for “The Journal of South Texas.”

Her life has been wonderful — her book reflects that in many subtle ways. “It seemed we were all comfortable in our little part of the world,” she writes.

Indeed, it was a heart’s delight.

About the author

Lucille Thomas Kruse is a native of Falfurrias, the setting for her semi-autobiographical book “Deep in the Brush Country.” She holds a bachelor’s degree in history and taught in the Episcopal School in Kingsville. She regularly writes a column titled “Remembrances” for her hometown newspaper, “The Falfurrias Facts."

Texana Reads

This weekly column focuses on new and old books about Texas or related to Texas. It includes fiction and nonfiction books, reports on political and sports books as well as cultural or historical works. The common thread among these books is their relationship to Texas, specifically South Texas.
For suggestions on topics or books, email manuelf78407@yahoo.com.

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Bluebonnets line the highways around Calallen on Monday, March 19, 2018. South Texas is entering the peak season for bluebonnets and wildflowers, said Michael Womack, executive director for the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center. The peak season runs from mid-March to April. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Bluebonnets line the highways around Calallen on Monday, March 19, 2018. One of the concerns when photographing in bluebonnets is to watch out for snakes, said Michael Womack, executive director for the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center. He recommends using a stick to disturb the grass and area just in front of the area in which you're walking to ensure no snakes are underfoot. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Bluebonnets line the edges of I-37 near Violet Road on Monday, March 19, 2018. Bluebonnets are important to pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, so people should take care to not trample through fields of bluebonnets, said Michael Womack, executive director for the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center. "Try to step between plants whenever possible. Remember the flower is the center of the plant. If you step between you can do less damage." Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Bluebonnets line the edges of I-37 near Violet Road on Monday, March 19, 2018. Bluebonnets are important to pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, so people should take care to not trample through fields of bluebonnets, said Michael Womack, executive director for the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center. "Try to step between plants whenever possible. Remember the flower is the center of the plant. If you step between you can do less damage." Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Bluebonnets line the highways around Calallen on Monday, March 19, 2018. One of the concerns when photographing in bluebonnets is to watch out for snakes, said Michael Womack, executive director for the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center. He recommends using a stick to disturb the grass and area just in front of the area in which you're walking to ensure no snakes are underfoot. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Bluebonnets line the edges of I-37 near Violet Road on Monday, March 19, 2018. Bluebonnets are important to pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, so people should take care not to trample through fields of bluebonnets, said Michael Womack, executive director for the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center. "Try to step between plants whenever possible. Remember the flower is the center of the plant. If you step between you can do less damage." Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Bluebonnets line the highways around Calallen on Monday, March 19, 2018. One of the concerns when photographing in bluebonnets is to watch out for snakes, said Michael Womack, executive director for the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center. He recommends using a stick to disturb the grass and area just in front of the area in which you're walking to ensure no snakes are underfoot. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times

Bluebonnets line the highways around Calallen on Monday, March 19, 2018. South Texas is entering the peak season for bluebonnets and wildflowers, said Michael Womack, executive director for the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center. The peak season runs from mid-March to April. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times